The Call
by LizzySong
Summary: It's been five years since the last time Bruce and Selina spoke, but after a job gone wrong Bruce finds out he's still Selina's emergancy contact. (Future!Fic)
1. The Call

**I got a prompt on my Tumblr when I asked for hospital prompts to do a future!fic where Bruce and Selina haven't spoken in years, but then Bruce finds out the hard way that he's still Selina's emergency contact.**

 **At this point they are in their early 20s (Bruce being 21 and Selina 22) and haven't spoken in 5 years.**

 **As per my usual style, the first chapter will focus on Bruce, the second Selina, and the third will be both.**

 **Enjoy!**

It was late... or early? He wasn't completely sure. All he knew was that he was tired. He'd been out all night -- like he was every night -- trying to bring justice to his city. He came home when he was sure the city was safe for another night, and sat at the desk in his father's study. It still didn't feel right calling it _his_ study... maybe it never would.

Despite being exhausted, he couldn't sleep, and decided to begin on the mounds of paperwork from Wayne Enterprises he'd been putting off doing for far too long now.

He'd only gotten through a few pages of work before the phone rang. He stared at it for a moment in confusion, there was no reason for anyone to be calling him at this time. He picked it up and said "Hello?" into the receiver.

"Hello, I'm calling for mr. Wayne," a voice replied on the other end. "This is he," Bruce said, still confused. "Mr. Wayne, I'm calling from Gotham General. We have you down as the emergency contact for a ms. Selina Kyle."

Bruce felt his heart drop into his stomach, "What happened?" he asked, trying to keep is voice even. "I'm afraid she was involved in a mugging and sustained several, rather severe injuries. She's in surgery at the moment."

"...Okay," Bruce started, "Thank you. I'll be there as soon as I can." He hung up the phone, feeling dazed and in shock. He knew it couldn't have been a mugging, but Selina was too smart to tell anyone what she was really doing.

What that was he wasn't sure, but knowing Selina, she most likely wasn't completely innocent in whatever events had taken place.

He sighed -- he and Selina hadn't spoken in years, but he knew he must be the only person she had who she could ask for help. Why else would he still be her emergency contact?

Bruce entered the emergency wing of the hospital and asked where he could find Selina. A doctor took him to her room, "Now, I should warn you, she won't completely be herself at the moment. People tend to be very... happy as they come out of anesthetic." Bruce smiled slightly, "I understand. Thank you, doctor," he said as they reached Selina's room. She was still asleep when he entered, so he sat down in a visitor's chair on the far side of the room.

He shook his head and muttered, "What did you get yourself into, Selina?"

He only had to wait several minutes before Selina started to stir. She noticed him sitting after a minute and gave him a confused look -- still under the haze of anesthetic. "...Bruce...?" She slurred, finding it difficult to make her lips move the way she wanted them to. "...What... the hell... are you... doing here...?"


	2. The Job

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the support on this fic, guys! I honestly didn't expect this much interest just from the first chapter and I'm so happy!**

It was supposed to be a simple job. Go in, get the loot (god she hated using that word), and get out. She'd carefully cased the place. There were three guards, two in the front of the building, one in back. Which didn't seem well thought out considering anyone planning on stealing from the museum wouldn't go in through the front - and they wouldn't go in the back, either. Not if they were smart.

There were also two guards inside. They were the ones she needed to watch out for. They had an established beat which they never strayed from -- easy to time. Perfect.

The job started out easy. She went in through the window of someone's office on the second floor and quickly made her way to where the jewelry and jewels were on display. Selina rolled her eyes, why didn't they ever have her steal something interesting?

She had the pieces she'd been told to steal in her possession when someone came into the room. It wasn't a guard, though he was dressed like one.

There was nowhere for Selina to hide, so she grabbed her whip and prepared for the inevitable fight.

The man came charging at her, and though she tried to react, he was too fast. Apparently he'd been hired to steal the same pieces as she had, and was very adamant about getting them.

He grabbed the pieces from her, then plunged a knife into her stomach in one swift movement. He didn't wait to see what his handiwork did and was quickly out of sight.

She couldn't chase after him, there wasn't time, and she was in too much pain. She looked down and saw the knife handle sticking out of her stomach. She stared for a moment in shock before she heard voices shouting not far off in the distance. Guards. Good, that meant she could go through the front without being caught.

She made her way to the front of the building, with considerably less grace than she usually had.

As soon as Selina was a little ways down the road, just enough so that she wouldn't be considered a suspect, she stopped. She ducked into an alley and leaned against a wall for support, then assessed her situation. This wasn't something she could just stitch up. She needed a hospital. But she couldn't go to a hospital looking the way she did, or she'd be arrested for sure.

Suddenly the pain from her wound became overwhelming. Now that she'd stopped, her body had time to register what had happened, and it was all she could do not to pass out.

She forced herself to take off her mask and gloves. Better. She looked a little more like a regular person now.

Selina realized the blade was still inside of her abdomen and pulled it out. Bad idea. She was bleeding a lot heavier now. But there was no way in hell she was gonna shove it back in, so she dropped it.

She ditched her mask, gloves, and even her whip in the alleyway where she was standing, and then stumbled her way to the hospital. It was only a few blocks, though it felt like miles in her condition. She reminded herself that any passers by would dismiss her as drunk, so she didn't have to worry about any well-meaning citizens.

Finally she made it through the doors of the emergency wing of the hospital and promptly collapsed on the floor.

She came back into a hazy consciousness as she was being pushed through the hallways on a gurney and when the doctor in charge noticed this, she asked Selina, "What's your name?"

Selina groaned slightly before attempting to answer. Her voice sounded far away to her and she could tell she was slurring. "Selina... Kyle..." "What happened to you, Miss Kyle?"

Miss Kyle? She hadn't been called that in years. And the last time she had it wasn't used in a kind tone...

"...Mugged..." That was at least believable. This was Gotham after all. "Well, I'm not going to lie to you, Miss Kyle. You're not in good shape. But we're going to make sure you come out of this, alright?"

But Selina had already fallen back into unconsciousness.

The next time Selina came to, she was in a hospital bed. The sheets felt rough and itchy against her bare arms and legs and she moved slightly, trying to get comfortable. As she moved her gaze landed on the far side of the room. There she saw the last person she'd expected -- Bruce Wayne. She was in a foggy daze, but she was pretty sure this wasn't a hallucination. She called out to him. ...Or, at least, she tried to. "Bruce? What the hell are you doing here?" She couldn't make her lips move the way she wanted them to, and her voice wouldn't go louder than a broken whisper, so it came out something like: "...Bruce...? Wha... The hell... You doin'... Here...?" Which sounded much less angry than it had in her mind.


	3. The Reconciliation

**Author's note: Here's chapter three! I'm so sorry it took me so long to get out. Thank you all for the support! I'm so glad you all enjoyed this fic!**

Bruce stood up from his chair and walked over to Selina, standing next to her bed. He looked down at her, his eyes filled with concern, "They called me. Apparently I'm still your emergency contact."

Selina groaned a little. Of course he was her emergency contact. Had she really not changed it? ...Of course, there was no one else to change it _to_.

Bruce sat on the edge of her bed, gently taking her hand, "Selina, what happened?" "...You're... my... contact... they... shoulda... told you..." Why was it so hard to talk?

"They said you were mugged. But I know that's not true. What were you doing, Selina?" There was a slight edge to his tone and Selina wondered if he had only come to reprimand her. "...Job... went... bad..." She said. Bruce sighed, of course it was a job. It was always something like that with Selina. Why couldn't she just--

Suddenly Selina's eyes went wide with realization and anxiety, and she tried to sit up. Bruce frowned, startled out of his train of thought, and gently pushed Selina back into bed, "What's wrong?" "...Didn't get... what he wanted..." Selina said as she struggled against Bruce, "...He's gonna... come... for me..." Bruce sighed, "Selina, listen to me," he started, a stern but gentle tone to his voice -- not unlike the voice that Alfred had used with him in similar situations, "I'm going to make sure no one hurts you, but you have to stay here and rest." "Can't... Have to... get..." "No, Selina! You could have died tonight, you need to understand that!"

He sounded almost scared now, and Selina gave him a confused look, "...Why... do you... care...?" "Why wouldn't I care?" His voice was gentler now. "You... haven't... talked... to me..." Bruce looked down, and Selina could've sworn she saw shame in his eyes -- but then, that could have just been the lingering anesthetic making her see what she wanted. "I know. I'm sorry," he looked back at her, "But I do care. I care what happens to you, Selina."

Selina gave him a slightly crooked smile, "You're... too good... to me..." she was being sarcastic, of course, but there was amusement in her voice as well. Finally her lips were starting to work like they were supposed to. Bruce smiled a little, "Y'know... They told me you were gonna be in an unusually good mood when you woke up." "You... know me... better than... that..." Selina said, the crooked smile not leaving her face.

"I dunno," Bruce replied, "You seem pretty happy to me." "Maybe... that's cause... you're here..." Surprise was clear on both their faces when Selina said this, and they both blushed slightly.

"...What was the job?" Bruce asked after a minute of awkward silence. "Some expensive... jewelry crap..." Selina said with a sigh, "It's always... jewelry... Why don't... they ever... have me... steal anything... interesting...?" Bruce smiled a little, "Do you know how much it was worth? I'll pay whoever hired you off so they don't come after you." Selina rolled her eyes, "You gonna pay... my medical bills... too?" "If you need me to." He was so matter-of-fact and it irritated Selina.

He wouldn't be here at all if the hospital hadn't called him, and then he probably only came out because he'd feel guilty if he didn't -- not because he really wanted to.

"Selina," he started again, and Selina sighed, was he going to reprimand her some more? "Selina, I'm sorry. You're not just a common criminal - you never were. And it doesn't matter how young I was and how much pain I was in, I shouldn't have said that to you. I shouldn't have sent you away. ...And... I should've told you this sooner."

Selina stared at him. That was an apology. A real, sincere apology. She hadn't expected that.

"I'm sorry, too," she finally said, the anesthesia finally worn off enough for her to properly string words together -- even if it was still quiet and slightly slurred. "You're not just some rich brat. You care about this city, and you _are_ helping it."

Bruce smiled, "Thank you, Selina." She smiled back, a slight smirk to it, "You're welcome."

They sat like that for a moment that felt like an eternity before Bruce finally spoke, "...Do you want me to go?" He thought maybe apologies were enough for tonight and maybe Selina needed more time. He made a move to stand up, but Selina grabbed his arm to stop him, "No... Bruce... Bruce, I don't wanna be alone right now." She'd always hated hospitals, and, well, he was already here. Everything might not be solved between them, but he was better than nothing. She tried to convince herself that this was the only reason she wanted him to stay.

Bruce nodded in understanding, "Okay," he lowered himself onto the bed again, this time lying down next to Selina, "I'll stay."

They laid like that in silence for several moments before Selina moved slightly, leaning into Bruce's side and interlocking her hand with his. He smiled slightly and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, "You're gonna be okay."

Selina wasn't sure if she believed that, but at this very moment it felt true and a small, tired smile spread across her lips. It felt like it used to -- better than it used to. She knew it wouldn't last; she'd heal, she'd go back to doing things she didn't want to in order to survive, and he'd go back to his idealistic way of "bringing justice." But right now, everything felt right and she let herself truly relax for the first time in years, fully trusting Bruce to have her back.

"...Bruce?" She asked in a soft voice, "I gotta ask you something. It's been bothering me for a while now." "What is it?" "Why a bat?"

Bruce's eyes went wide and Selina could swear she felt him stop breathing for moment. He looked at her, shocked, and she smirked. "Yeah. I know about the bat." Bruce opened his mouth, as if to say something, then closed it again. "It was me," Selina explained with a sigh, "Last month, at the art museum, stealing the Degas. It was me." Bruce's stared at her for another moment before saying, "...It was a Van Gough." "...What?" "The painting -- the one you were stealing. It was a Van Gough." Selina rolled her eyes, "That doesn't matter." "Of course it does! You're stealing priceless works of art, Selina. You should at least know who painted them. ...And Degas and Van Gough don't have even remotely similar painting techniques, I don't know how you can confuse them."

Selina smiled, amused. She'd told him she knew he was going out every night, dressed up like a bat being a vigilante, _and_ confessed to committing a crime, but what bothered him the most was the fact that she didn't know who painted some stupid painting a hundred years ago. ...And suddenly it hit her how much she'd missed having these stupid little arguments with him -- how much she'd missed _him_ in general.

She rested her cheek on his shoulder, the smile not leaving her face. "Get some sleep, Bat-Boy." "...Man." "Huh?" "It's Batman. Not Batboy." She laughed slightly, then winced at the pain it caused in her stomach, "Whatever you say. ...If the nurse comes in, tell him I need more morphine. I was just stabbed. They don't need to be so stingy with the pain killers."

Bruce smiled slightly and nodded, "I'll tell the nurse you need more pain killers." He looked at her, and saw she was already asleep, "Sweet dreams, Cat."


End file.
